1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to computer software, particularly to computer-aided design tools for automating physical lay-out of electronic circuits.
2. Description of Background Art Computer-aided design tools are used to define and verify prototype electronic circuits and systems, both at physical (i.e., lay-out) and non-physical (e.g., schematic or high-level language) levels of prototype abstraction. At the physical level commercially-available lay-out tools employ various algorithms for placing circuits (e.g., gates, cells, components, etc.) on a given substrate (e.g., semiconductor, printed circuit board, etc.) Because available substrate space is valuable "real estate", it is desirable to provide improved compaction technique for electronic floor-planning and placement.